Saturday, December 25, 2010

Clementine Countdown: 1!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Here's to laughing with the ones you love, new adventures, and enjoying the little things—like clementines. ﻿

Sheesh, that was a lot of clementines. And I can honestly say that I am not tired of them. I had to buy a second, five pound bag to keep up with the countdown, and those will be gone by the end of the weekend.

I am, however, tired of blogging about them. Here’s an idea, just eat them. They’re yummy!Thanks to all my friends and readers who came up with great ways to enjoy them. I will leave you with a few of my favorites:

On vanilla ice cream, drizzled with caramel sauce and sprinkled with pecan bits

In a champagne cocktail

In a stir-fry with pork

Tossed on top of some mixed greens with caramelized walnuts and a raspberry vinaigrette

And this one deserves to be quoted directly. Brilliant, Annie. “What about a clementine cocktail? Last spring I went through a little phase of making cocktails inspired by salads and it was so much fun to just totally make up my own recipes. You could make a syrup with the clem’s juice and add pepper, cardamom and cinnamon sticks. I’d be tempted to soak some pomegranate seeds in vanilla sugar and a hint of balsamic vinegar. You could add the juice they produce to the syrup and garnish the final drink with those gorgeous jewel red seeds. Toasted pine nuts and some sort of herb (flowering rosemary?) could be nice as a garnish…Oh, and for the alcohol. I always only ever have whiskey in my liquor cabinet thanks to a little birdie that turned me on to Knob Creek when I was still a wee pup.”